James Morrison (jazz musician)

James Morrison
Morrison performs at the Oslo Jazz Festival in 2017.
Morrison performs at the Oslo Jazz Festival in 2017.
Background information
Birth nameJames Lloyd Morrison
Born (1962-11-11) 11 November 1962 (age 61)
Boorowa, New South Wales, Australia
GenresJazz
Occupations
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • jazz educator
  • artistic director
  • TV presenter
Instrument(s)Trumpet, multi-instrumentalist
Years active1983–present
LabelsABC, WEA, EastWest
Websitejamesmorrison.com

James Lloyd Morrison AM (born 11 November 1962) is an Australian jazz musician. Although his main instrument is trumpet, he has also performed on trombone, tuba, euphonium, flugelhorn, saxophone, clarinet, double bass, guitar, and piano.[1] He is a composer, writing jazz charts for ensembles of various sizes and proficiency levels.[2]

He composed and performed the opening fanfare at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.[2] In 2009, he joined Steve Pizzati and Warren Brown as a presenter on Top Gear Australia.[3] At the ARIA Music Awards of 2010 Morrison and an a cappella group, The Idea of North, won Best Jazz Album, for their collaboration on Feels Like Spring.[4] In 2012 Morrison was appointed Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival for the 2013 and 2015 festivals.[5] He was inducted into the Graeme Bell Hall of Fame 2013 at the Australian Jazz Bell Awards.[6] In July 2013 he conducted the World's Largest Orchestra in Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, consisting of 7,224 musicians.[7]

  1. ^ Hudson, Sarah (20 January 2001). "Sounds like home's best". Herald Sun; Melbourne, Vic. p. 100.
  2. ^ a b Litson, Jo (28 September 2002). "The player - BOLD & brassy". The Weekend Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. p. B.01.
  3. ^ "Driver change for Australia's Top Gear". The Herald; Newcastle, N.S.W. 20 December 2008. p. 7.
  4. ^ "James Morrison wins first ARIA". ABC Premium News; Sydney. 3 November 2010.
  5. ^ Mengel, Noel (8 February 2012). "James trumpets a love of music in new role". The Courier - Mail; Brisbane, Qld. p. 17.
  6. ^ Wilson, Ashleigh (2 May 2013). "Morrison blows his own trumpet for jazz". The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. [. p. 5.
  7. ^ Sennett, Sean. (15 July 2013). "Voices in harmony get festival off to a big start". The Australian; Canberra, A.C.T. p. 12.